“This will help consumers in Malaysia lessen the amount of plastic bags discarded as well as reduce pollution,” he said, adding that he himself brings a basket when out shopping.

While stating his full support for the “No Plastic Bags on Saturdays” campaign by several hypermarkets and Petronas Mesra convenience stores which started yesterday, Nadzim said he estimated that one million tonnes of garbage, especially plastic, was disposed of by consumers in Penang.

“Imagine how much trash we can reduce if this is implemented continuously,” he told Bernama.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) adviser Prof Hamdan Adnan said business premises in the country should also strive to use recyclable material such as cloth and paper to pack their merchandise.

“We should have switched to environmentally friendly material long ago,” he added.